


Static Blues

by skinandbones



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Afterlife, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fluff, Freeform, M/M, a strange afterlife sequence that prob has no meaning, ffxvrarepairs2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 08:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11399070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinandbones/pseuds/skinandbones
Summary: Clarus waited for a long time.





	Static Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3 for ffxvrarepairsweek2017.
> 
> I'm going to leave it up to you readers and you can decide what's going on. Really.

There was silence.  
  
The waters calmed and the wooden boat sailed into the distance. No point or destination for them, they merely moved in the vast blue ocean while crystal-like birds flew over their heads and disappeared as they faded into mere sparks in the sky. The salty air was comforting, a gentle breeze danced along their skin, and Clarus almost remembered what it was like when he first crossed the distance to Altissia.  
  
Here. Here was where he had no reason but to wait. Waiting for the moment to hear his voice again, and if not today, then he would wait for tomorrow to come. If not tomorrow then the cycle repeated as long as the boat remained and his body still lived.  
  
There was not much to see. So much cerulean and not a trail of visible land. No boats came or a friendly face to greet him a hello. Sometimes, he wondered, if he was meant to be here, trapped in this inescapable dream.  
  
But was it a dream or something else?  
  
“Clarus, what’re you thinking about?”  
  
“What?”  
  
Clarus turned his attention to the not-so-sleeping man on his lap, finding the subtle movements from his body waking. It was startling. At first, Clarus didn’t think he would see Cor again or expected him to wake from his long slumber but time felt different on this plane, some sense of eternity spent here without any way of measuring the hours or days. Some days were longer, some were shorter. A season stagnant, a summer unchanging.  
  
When the sun set, the temperature cooled and the world around him darkened. The birds gone and no other creature appeared but maybe they were all asleep in the hidden depths where no human ventured. Maybe Leviathan lingered down below with her children and would wake when the time came. Nothing but the sounds of the sea gently rocking his boat were heard. The constellations above him painted against the night sky, and he would talk to himself, relearning the names of each star and recounting the stories until he fell asleep.  
  
It became a loop, an oddly one as his time spent here became repetitive.  
  
One day, he mused over the thought of his body, a phantom ache suddenly recalling of a weapon that pierced him before his death. His hand laid flat against his chest and he began his deep breaths to calm that unsettling feeling. What happened to the others? He wanted to know but time gave him no answer.  
  
But he was blessed in the midst of some morning, so very blessed to see a familiar face in his boat when he almost ran out of hope but the price was waiting (again) for Cor to open his eyes. It was more than just a dream but a cruel punishment instead.  
  
Clarus was a patient man and talked to Cor to pass the time. He spoke of their first meeting and how proud he was to see him grow over the years. How much Cor surpassed everyone’s expectations, earning him the well deserved title as Marshal.  
  
Then when the nights came, Clarus sat beside Cor, wishing Cor could see what he saw. He mentioned about the stars canvassing above them unlike anything they had back home, and most of all, he let love fall from his lips.  
  
“You’re awake?” Clarus touched the short brown hairs and down to the man’s cheek, feeling the stubble tickling his fingers.  
  
Warm. Cor was alive. That was all he wanted.  
  
“Felt like I slept for a long time,” Cor slowly said, tilting his head to face Clarus and stayed in the exact spot on his lap.  
  
“Not too long.” Clarus smiled. There was relief but this overwhelming force overcame his tired and weakened soul, and he had to breathe and breathe with his eyes shut to the world. He was given a gift.  
  
“Clarus,” Cor uttered his name and reached to lightly stroked Clarus’ face. “What’s wrong?”  
  
Clarus opened his eyes and saw stunning blue eyes instead, almost leaving him breathless. He missed them very much and through all the years of knowing each other, he always found them the most beautiful. A raw gem that no other could match. “Nothing is wrong, nothing at all.”  
  
Cor became curious. “You sure? Look like you’ve seen a ghost.”  
  
“No. I was thinking how much I missed you.”  
  
The Marshal’s body stilled. “Yeah,” he admitted, a frown loosening his composure and his fingers fell from Clarus’ face, descending down to the gray shirt he wore. Cor gripped it tightly as if Clarus was to disappear from his grasp. “I missed you too, sorry it took so long.”  
  
“Don’t be a fool.” Clarus took Cor’s hand into his own from his shirt and folded their fingers together. They never let go. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re here now.”  
  
“Here?” Cor sat up, their hands stayed between them still. The apparent confusion settled on Cor’s face as he looked around them, taking note of the boat he was in and the sea that extended for miles. “Where are we exactly?”  
  
“The afterlife?” Clarus replied but he had no clue, he wasn’t given answers but a dormant life and a body to watch over.  
  
“Is it?”  
  
Clarus shook his head. “I’m not sure myself but does it matter? I haven’t left this boat ever since I got here. Not like I have anywhere else to go.”  
  
“I see… Have you seen the others? Regis? Noctis?”  
  
Now those were names he hadn’t heard in a long time.  
  
There was a time when Clarus looked back and struggled to make sense of who he was because it was the duty of an Amicitia to protect the king but the price for failing was an immediate death. If only he could speak to Regis again, a chance to apologize. “I haven’t. If they were here then I wouldn’t know where to start looking but perhaps it is best to believe they’re with their family. Reunited and happy.”  
  
Cor didn’t ask again, as if satisfied with what he heard, and rested his head over Clarus’ shoulder instead. “I wouldn’t mind staying like this. For however long we have.”  
  
“We have much to catch up, don’t we?” Clarus curled his head, bathing in that body heat he missed. The scent of spring and rain eased his mind.  
  
“Too much has happened, I want to tell you everything,” Cor mumbled as if he was ready to drift back to sleep. “But I think I’ll rest for a bit,” Clarus noticed Cor’s eyes fluttering to a close and how he buried his head into the crook of his neck, a tired air left his lips, a promise and a quiet ‘love you’ breathed into skin.  
  
Clarus’ heart grew heavy, and he pressed a firm kiss against the corner of Cor’s eye before whispering, “And I love you too. I’m the one who should be sorry, for everything.”  
  
“Idiot...” Cor scolded faintly before his breath evened out, his body sagged against Clarus’ body. He was still warm, life flowed within him.  
  
“I know.”  
  
The cries of birds echoed high above, and Clarus looked up, finding their return most welcoming.  
  
_“I know.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at [ofskinandbones](http://www.ofskinandbones.tumblr.com).


End file.
